The present invention generally relates to the field of wireless communication systems and to systems and methods for deployment operations of small cells in self-organizing networks.
Growth in wireless communication continues to increase. Demand for data services with high data bandwidth requirements has led to the introduction of multiple modulation techniques for wireless communication, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access+ (HSDPA+), and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized or “EVDO”). Additionally, deployment of small cells such as picocells and femtocells has become increasingly desirable for providing coverage. Small cells may be deployed, for example, in areas having high user density, such as airports or event venues, or areas with poor coverage by macro base stations. A small cell base stations may have, for example, a 100 meter coverage radius. Both voice and data modes are desired in small cell deployments. Development of multi-modal multi-modulation capable small cells is complex. Such small cell systems need management of backhaul and core network connectivity as well as advanced features such as capabilities for self-organizing networks.
Further, deployment of small cells can be complex and consume a large amount of technical resources. Network organization grows increasingly complex as an increasing number of cells are deployed. The deployment of small cell eNBs can be extremely cumbersome to an operator's management system from the configuration and maintenance point of view as well as all the signaling and traffic to the mobility management entity. Automation of small call deployment can thus aid in meeting the growing demand for wireless communications.